Week 8 of the 2018 NFL season is in the books, and teams continue to score at a historic rate. I broke down two plays that caught my eye: MVP candidate Todd Gurley’s 30 yard reception TD along with the Texans’ Will Fuller’s 73 yard touchdown.

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With 7:39 in the 3rd quarter down 10-8, the Rams line up in 11 personnel on 1st & 10 from the Green Bay 30. From Empty, the Rams have three receivers bunched right and Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley split left. After Jared Goff appears to make a check at the line, the Rams essentially run a one man route; Todd Gurley is running a drag underneath, with all three bunch receivers breaking in to block off Packers defenders. The Packers are in Cover 1:

Packers defensive backs in man coverage are not expected to chase shallow crossers across the field. Instead, most teams communicate and trade off receivers. This actually leads to interceptions or big hits on unsuspecting quarterbacks and receivers. Here, linebacker Blake Martinez (#50) runs with tight end Tyler Higbee (#89), all Packer defensive backs’ hips are locked, and nobody switches onto Gurley’s drag route:

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Jared Goff sees the opening, and Gurley catches the ball with a head of steam for an easy score. The Rams likely call this play or check to this play in situations where they expect man coverage underneath, and check to something else if Goff is confident the defense is in zone. It’s also a decent play in 3rd and long against Cover 5 to pick up yards before punting.

On 2nd & 8 from their own 27 leading 21-17, the Texans come out in 12 personnel from a balanced single back formation. The Texans use play action and are protecting with six, including the back side TE. DeAndre Hopkins is running a deep in, Will Fuller is running a deep over, the tight end is running a fifteen yard out, and running back Lamar Miller leaks to the flat:

Watson has an eternity to throw, the boundary safety breaks on Hopkins’ in route, which leaves Fuller wide open over the top for a huge play:

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It’s unclear what coverage the Dolphins are in. They could plausibly be playing Cover 4 cut, a quarters coverage with man principles for cornerbacks once an outside receiver reaches 8-10 yards. The Dolphins could also be playing Cover 2 to the field and a bracket on Hopkins, although that defense is particularly susceptible to deep crossers, a Will Fuller specialty. It’s unlikely (but possible) that the Dolphins are in Cover 1 because linebacker Kiko Alonso passes off the tight end’s route, presumably to another zone defender. We do know cornerback McClain sought some help:

Without Will Fuller for the rest of the season, it may be difficult for the Texans to go deep to take advantage of the attention Hopkins draws from defenses. It will be interesting to see,  how Demaryius Thomas can take advantage of single coverage in Fuller’s absence.

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